Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [618]

The Hammerlocke Stadium was boiling with excitement.

With the Masters Tournament now reaching the semifinals, interest surged to unprecedented levels. August had thought he’d arrived early enough, yet the packed sea of people at the stadium’s entrance told him clearly—he’d still come too late.

“If it weren’t for a certain someone, we'd already be in our seats right now,” August sighed, glancing pointedly backward.

Gary noticed August’s gaze, looked around to see everyone else staring at him, then finally pointed at his own nose. “Me?”

He hadn’t even been that late, had he…?

And hadn’t Zinnia spent ages polishing Rayquaza’s Poké Ball too? Why wasn’t she getting any flak?

Gary felt unjustly targeted.

Seeing Gary looking her way, Zinnia puffed her chest out proudly and declared, “Because I’m an idiot!”

Gary: “…Huh?”

Was this something to brag about?

But, true enough…you couldn’t exactly argue with an idiot…

Gary sighed helplessly, resigned to taking the blame.

The queue slowly shuffled forward, and finally August and his group entered Hammerlocke Stadium. Once at their seats, August bought the customary bucket of popcorn for Mew and Eevee.

“Mew~!”

Watching Mew and Eevee engage in tactical warfare over popcorn, August turned his attention back to the field.

“Welcome everyone to the Masters Tournament semifinals!” Ball Guy’s familiar face appeared on the big screen, complete with his Poké Ball-shaped helmet and exaggerated gestures. “I bet you’re all extremely excited for today’s matchups—I know I certainly am!”

“And once again, Ball Guy’s bringing you prizes! Just participate in our official predictions to enter the lottery for an extravagant seven-day trip to Kitakami, generously sponsored by the Pokémon League!”

“Even if you don’t win the lottery, simply guessing correctly earns you a commemorative badge for this year’s championship!”

This announcement immediately stirred the audience, and everyone pulled out their phones to participate.

The group from the Kanto Branch was no different.

“Kitakami?” Zinnia looked bewildered. “Where’s that?”

“Ooh, I know, I know!” Iono raised her hand, eager to educate both Zinnia and her stream audience. “In Paldea, the Naranja Academy holds an annual summer exchange camp with Blueberry Academy, and Kitakami is one of the locations they visit. I’ve been there myself, and the festival in Kitakami is super fun!”

Her livestream exploded with excited comments.

—[Yeah, super fun! “Iono’s Kitakami Adventures” is the funniest documentary I’ve ever watched!]

—[Who remembers when Iono got chased around by three Mightyena?]

—[Mightyena? Wasn’t that the trip where Mankey stole her lunch during camping and she starved all day?]

Iono’s expression froze as her audience gleefully unearthed these embarrassing memories.

She quickly tried damage control: “Th-the Mightyena weren’t chasing me! We were playing a fun running game! And as for the Mankey…I just felt bad for them and generously donated my lunch!”

The comments flooded in with sarcastic agreement, making Iono blush furiously.

Luckily, Zinnia, ever-curious, bombarded Iono with a flurry of questions, rescuing her from further embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Gary had no interest in any trip to Kitakami—he cared more about the prediction itself.

“Pryce,” Gary declared confidently. “It’s gotta be Pryce!”

As part of the Kanto Branch, Gary was perfectly clear about Pryce’s true strength. Pryce’s victories against Alder and Mustard earlier only reinforced this.

There was absolutely no doubt—Pryce would definitely win!

Gary quickly selected Pryce without hesitation, then leaned over to Ethan to offer some helpful advice:

“Trust me, pick Pryce and you can’t go wrong!”

Ethan reflexively glanced at August-san. Seeing August wasn’t looking over, Ethan hesitated briefly, then chose to trust Gary. Honestly, he also believed Pryce had a better shot.

On the other hand, Blue and Sabrina firmly chose Cynthia without even pausing. The three women had formed an unshakable alliance!

Everyone else made their own selections, though most leaned toward Pryce as the safer bet.

After making their choices, everyone turned curiously toward August—who had he picked?

His former rival Pryce, or Cynthia?

Seeing August had no intention of revealing his choice, Zinnia leaned in close, pleading earnestly, “August, who did you choose? Let me peek! I really, really wanna go to Kitakami!”

Ever since Zinnia learned from Iono that Kitakami’s local legends didn’t even mention the greatness of Lord Rayquaza, she’d resolved that she absolutely had to go there herself!

August, amused by Zinnia’s eager expression, teased, “You really wanna know?”

“Yeah!”

“How badly?”

Zinnia thought seriously for a second. “Super badly!”

“Well then…” August glanced sideways at her pleading face, smiling mischievously before uttering two simple words: “It’s secret.”

Zinnia’s excited expression instantly froze.

After finally realizing August had deliberately teased her, Zinnia glared fiercely at his smug face, fighting down the urge to punch him.

She might get called an idiot all the time, but even idiots had dignity!

She’d love nothing more than to beat August up…but remembering that Lord Rayquaza was still under August’s control, Zinnia angrily turned her head away, sulking by herself instead.

At that exact moment, the stadium speakers announced the entrance of today’s competitors. Accompanied by dramatic music, Cynthia entered the field alongside Pryce, the older trainer calmly seated in his wheelchair, pushed carefully along by Delibird.

The match was finally beginning.

Cynthia’s heart beat a bit faster than usual. Though she’d acted perfectly confident earlier, Pryce’s formidable victories still lingered in her mind, inevitably leaving her feeling slightly anxious.

Pryce, however, looked as kindly and serene as always.

Judging by appearances alone, no one would ever link this gentle, elderly trainer to the ruthless former leader of the Masked Legion.

Seeing both trainers taking their positions, the referee exchanged quick glances and nods with Cynthia and Pryce, then raised the official battle flag.

Ball Guy immediately perked up, exclaiming excitedly, “Whoa! Looks like the match is finally starting! What incredible battle will Cynthia and Pryce bring us today?”

“Both trainers, ready yourselves!” The referee’s flag swung decisively downward.

“The match officially begins!”

---

T/N: HOW ARE WE ENDING IN 2 CHAPTERS

This is a fan translation of 我，宝可梦称号大师！ by 落唯 白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!